Niagara Regional Housing: Certified Living Wage Employer
The Niagara Poverty Reduction Network is pleased to announce that Niagara Regional Housing (NRH) has become a certified living wage employer at the Champion level.
Niagara Regional Housing has been administering Community Housing for Niagara Region since 2002.
Governed by a Board of Directors with five Niagara Regional Councillors and four community members, NRH is dedicated to improving lives and building healthy communities through a combination of programs and services including public housing (owned units), non-profit and co-operative housing, community programs, rent supplement and temporary housing allowances in private buildings, Niagara Renovates, Housing First, Welcome Home, Niagara Homeownership Program and new development. They currently employ 60 full time staff and 40 part time staff, and work with 45 contract staff.
“Niagara Regional Housing is proud to be a Living Wage Champion,” says Walter Sendzik, Chair of the Board of Directors for NRH. “As a Champion, we are not only committed to paying our employees a living wage, we also encourage our contractors to pay a living wage to their employees. We join a growing list of Niagara companies who believe in the principles of a living wage as a means to generate greater economic opportunity for everyone.”
“We are very pleased to see so many local employers who recognize the value and benefits of paying at least a living wage. Paying a living wage takes direct action to tackle poverty and to help people afford their cost of living expenses,” says Aidan Johnson, Chair of the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network.
A living wage reflects what earners need to be paid based on the actual costs of living and being included in the community. A living wage is not the same as the legislated minimum wage. It is a voluntary commitment that employers can make to compensate directly-employed and contract-employed full-time and part-time workers. The 2019 living wage for Niagara region has been calculated to be $18.12/hour. If an employer’s total compensation package includes benefits such as dental and prescription drugs, the living wage can be lowered by at least $1.00/hour.
Learn more about Niagara’s living wage at www.wipeoutpoverty.ca. Niagara-area employers interested in becoming living wage certified can contact the Ontario Living Wage Network for more information at www.ontariolivingwage.ca
